Managing cold water discomfort can be done by increasing autonomic arousal, energizing, or distracting oneself.

“Other people however, take the approach of trying to ramp up their level of internal autonomic arousal, meaning to get really energized and kind of lean into the friction of the cold. And they find that easier. Other people distract themselves, they recite the alphabet, or they do something, anything to try and distract themselves from the discomfort.”